A computer-implemented method for locating lost devices may include (1) receiving a report of a lost device that specifies a hardware address that uniquely identifies the lost device, (2) collecting information from a helper device that has been connected to a local area network that indicates that a device with the hardware address of the lost device was observed as being connected to the local area network, (3) receiving location data from the helper device that specifies a location of the helper device, and (4) providing the location of the helper device as a location of the lost device in response to the report. Various other methods and systems are also disclosed.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A computer-implemented method for locating lost devices, at least a portion of the method being performed by a computing device comprising at least one processor, the method comprising: receiving, at a server, a hardware address of a mobile device that uniquely identifies the mobile device in response to an installation of a locating application on the mobile device, the locating application thereby aiding the server in finding the mobile device in case of loss and enabling the mobile device to aid the server in finding other mobile devices in case of loss; receiving, at the server, a report that the mobile device has become a lost device; collecting, at the server, information from an instance of the locating application that is installed on a helper mobile device that has been connected within a local area network that indicates to the server that an observed device with the hardware address of the lost device was observed as being connected within the local area network, wherein the server does not transmit the hardware address to the helper mobile device and the helper mobile device gathers and transmits a plurality of observed hardware addresses within the local area network to the server; searching, at the server, the plurality of observed hardware addresses for the hardware address to determine that the hardware address of the lost device was observed as being connected within the local area network; receiving, at the server, location data from the helper mobile device that specifies a location of the helper mobile device; providing, from the server, the location of the helper mobile device as a location of the lost device in response to the report.
2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising registering the lost device before the lost device is lost by storing the hardware address of the lost device for later use in locating the lost device.
3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising notifying the helper mobile device that the lost device has been lost by transmitting the hardware address of the lost device to the helper mobile device.
4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising requesting hardware addresses from the helper mobile device that identify discoverable devices connected within the local area network for comparison with the hardware address of the lost device.
5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining that the lost device is potentially within a specific geographical area; determining that the helper mobile device is within the specific geographical area; notifying the helper mobile device that the lost device has been lost based on having determined that the helper mobile device is within the specific geographical area.
6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising discovering a match between the information collected from the helper mobile device and the hardware address of the lost device.
7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising determining that the lost device was observed at the location of the helper mobile device based at least in part on receiving the location data from the helper mobile device.
8. A computer-implemented method for locating lost devices, at least a portion of the method being performed by a computing device comprising at least one processor, the method comprising: identifying that an observed device is connected within a local area network by receiving, at a helper mobile device via a connection within the local area network, a hardware address that uniquely identifies the observed device; providing, to a server, by an instance of a locating application running on the helper mobile device, the hardware address of the observed device to facilitate a determination, by the server, that the hardware address of the observed device matches a reported hardware address of a known lost device and that, therefore, the observed device comprises the known lost device, wherein the server does not transmit the hardware address to the helper mobile device and the helper mobile device transmits a plurality of observed hardware addresses within the local area network to the server and wherein providing the hardware address of the observed device facilitates the determination by the server by enabling the server to search the plurality of observed hardware addresses for the hardware address to determine that the hardware address of the lost device was observed as being connected within the local area network, wherein the server previously received the reported hardware address of the known lost device before the known lost device was lost and in response to an installation of an instance of the locating application on the known lost device, the locating application thereby aiding the server in finding the mobile device in case of loss and enabling the mobile device to aid the server in finding other mobile devices in case of loss; identifying, at the helper mobile device, location data that specifies a location of the helper mobile device; providing, from the helper mobile device to the server, the location data to facilitate a determination that the known lost device was observed at the location of the helper mobile device.
9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , wherein identifying that the observed device is connected within the local area network comprises using a network protocol to discover the lost device on the local area network based on the hardware address of the lost device.
10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , wherein identifying that the observed device is connected within the local area network comprises using a network protocol to obtain hardware addresses identifying discoverable devices connected within the local area network.
11. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , further comprising: receiving, at the helper mobile device, the reported hardware address; determining, at the helper mobile device, that the reported hardware address matches the hardware address of the observed device.
12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , further comprising determining, at the helper mobile device, that the known lost device was observed at the location of the helper mobile device, based on the hardware address of the observed device, the reported hardware address, and the location data.
13. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , further comprising: facilitating, from the helper mobile device, the determination that the observed device comprises the known lost device by providing the hardware address of the observed device to a centralized device that has access to the reported hardware address; providing, from the helper mobile device, the location data to the centralized device, wherein the centralized device determines that the known lost device was observed at the location of the helper mobile device based on the hardware address of the observed device, the reported hardware address, and the location data.
14. A system for locating lost devices, the system comprising: a report module programmed to: receive, at a server, a hardware address of a mobile device that uniquely identifies the mobile device in response to an installation of a locating application on the mobile device, the locating application thereby aiding the server in finding the mobile device in case of loss and enabling the mobile device to aid the server in finding other mobile devices in case of loss; receive, at a server, a report of a lost device, the report specifying a hardware address that uniquely identifies the lost device; a collection module programmed to: collect, at the server, information from an instance of the locating application that is installed on a helper mobile device that has been connected to a local area network that indicates to the server that an observed device with the hardware address of the lost device was observed as being connected within the local area network, wherein the server does not transmit the hardware address to the helper mobile device and the helper mobile device gathers and transmits a plurality of observed hardware addresses within the local area network to the server; search, at the server, the plurality of observed hardware addresses for the hardware address to determine that the hardware address of the lost device was observed as being connected within the local area network; a receiving module programmed to receive, at the server, location data from the helper mobile device that specifies a location of the helper mobile device; a providing module programmed to provide, from the server, the location of the helper mobile device as a location of the lost device in response to the report; at least one processor that executes the report module, the collection module, the receiving module, and the providing module.
15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the report module further registers the lost device before the lost device is lost by storing the hardware address of the lost device for later use in locating the lost device.
16. The system of claim 14 , wherein the report module further notifies the helper mobile device that the lost device has been lost by transmitting the hardware address of the lost device to the helper mobile device.
17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the report module further requests from the helper mobile device hardware addresses identifying discoverable devices connected within the local area network for comparison with the hardware address of the lost device.
18. The system of claim 14 , wherein the report module further: determines that the lost device is potentially within a specific geographical area; determines that the helper mobile device is within the specific geographical area; notifies the helper mobile device that the lost device has been lost based on having determined that the helper mobile device is within the specific geographical area.
19. The system of claim 14 , wherein the collection module further discovers a match between the information collected from the helper mobile device and the hardware address of the lost device.
20. The system of claim 14 , wherein the receiving module further determines that the lost device was observed at the location of the helper mobile device based at least in part on receiving the location data from the helper mobile device.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
June 26, 2013
October 6, 2015
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